Book Review: Man Without Woman
Premise: A compilation of short tales about men’s isolation and solitude amidst their struggle with life’s sorrows after losing their loved ones. Each story collectively depicts their inability to move forward, as these men spend their remaining days mourning what they will never experience again.
Highlighted Quotes:
“ — But the proposition that we can look into another person’s heart with perfect clarity strikes me as a fool’s game. I don’t care how well we think we should understand them, or how much we love them. All it can do is cause us pain. Examining your own heart, however, is another matter. I think it’s possible to see what’s in there if you work hard enough at it. So in the end maybe that’s the challenge: to look inside your own heart as perceptively and seriously as you can, and to make peace with what you find there. If we hope to truly see another person, we have to start by looking within ourselves.” — Drive My Car
“I think Kitaru is honestly seeking something, In his own way, at his own pace, very genuinely and directly. It’s just that I don’t think he’s grasped yet what it is. That’s why he can’t make any progress, and that applies to all kinds of things. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, it’s not easy to look for it.” — Yesterday
“Life is strange, isn’t it? You can be totally entranced by the glow of something one minute, be willing to sacrifice everything to make it yours, but then a little time passes, or your perspective changes a bit, and all of a sudden you’re shocked at how faded it appears. What was I looking at?” — Scheherazade
“It’s strange, isn’t it? Everything is blowing up around us, but there are still those who care about a broken lock, and others who are dutiful enough to try to fix it. But maybe that’s the way it should be. Maybe working on the little things as dutifully and honestly as we can is how we stay sane when the world is falling apart.” — Samsa in Love
“Yet he continued to return to his core principle: that, in every situation, knowledge was better than ignorance. However agonizing, it was necessary to confront the facts. Only through knowing could a person become strong.” — Kino
Initial Takeaway:
“The journey men travel can sometimes be the loneliest. We are expected to keep moving forward with broken hearts to survive. Gradually, suppressed droplets of emotions leak out little by little, as it requires immense strength to hold them in and to keep going despite all odds.”
In Summary:
In 2021, I watched a film directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi titled Drive My Car. This 3-hour movie became my favorite of all time as it deals heavily with themes of sadness, loss, isolation, and loneliness, and explores how to pick yourself up when faced with these heavy emotions. As someone who felt isolated and lonely for a long time, I began to grasp how men around the world struggle with these feelings.
I then discovered that the film was based on Haruki Murakami’s book Men Without Women. The book comprises several tales dealing with similar themes, but the movie draws heavily from two stories: “Drive My Car” and “Scheherazade”. Mainly inspired by these two stories, the movie also incorporates themes from the other stories in the collection.
The book itself emphasizes the idea that the journey men travel can sometimes be the loneliest. We are expected to keep moving forward with broken hearts to survive. Gradually, suppressed droplets of emotions leak out, requiring immense strength to hold them in and to keep going despite all odds. At times, we must keep going because it is expected of us, but the impact of suppressing emotions varies for each individual. Some men overcome this struggle, while others succumb to defeat.
Each story in the book depicts men’s isolation and solitude differently. Some stories end on a somber note where the individual cannot move past their broken heart, while others have a bittersweet, open-ended conclusion. My personal favorite is the story titled “Kino,” which tells the tale of Kino and how he deals with his problems by suppressing anger, sadness, and other emotions. Murakami uses metaphors and analogies throughout Kino’s story, which resonates with me. As someone who tends to suppress emotions when faced with overwhelming problems, I relate to Kino’s gradual mental strain.
Overall, Murakami superbly creates each story through the characters’ personalities, allowing us to view and perceive their lives. His depiction of loss is incredibly written, showing how it can affect both the mind and the heart. Additionally, Murakami’s writing style is similar to mine.
Book Review Rating: 4.6/5.0
